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The proper way to format a letter largely depends on the type of letter you plan to write and its intended recipient. The format you might use for a letter to a friend will differ significantly from that used for formal correspondence. Additionally, the format of a traditional mailed letter will vary from that of an email. Continue reading to learn more about the appropriate way to format your next letter.
Steps
Formal or Business Letter
Write your name and address at the top of the letter. Provide your street address, city, state, and ZIP code in a block aligned to the left with single spacing.
- The city, state, and ZIP code should be on the same line, while the street address should be on a separate line.
- If you are using professional letterhead that already includes this information, skip this step. Do not repeat the sender's address twice.
Write the date directly below your address. Enter the date the letter was written or completed, depending on your preference.
- The date should be left-aligned, just like the address above.
- In English letters, use the month-day-year format. Write the full month but use numbers for the day and year. For example: February 9, 2013.
Leave a blank line between the date and the next part of the letter. This will visually separate the address section from the following content.
Include a reference line if applicable. If the letter refers to something specific, it’s helpful to provide a reference line starting with "Re:"
- Left-align the reference line and keep it to a single line.
- Use a reference line when replying to another letter, responding to a job advertisement, or requesting information.
- After the optional reference line, leave a blank line to separate it from the next part of the letter.
Enter the recipient's address. Write the recipient's name and title, as well as the company name, street address, city, state, and ZIP code.
- All this information should be left-aligned and single-spaced. The recipient's name should be on a separate line, as should their title, company name, and street address. The city, state, and ZIP code should be on the same line.
- If sending the letter to another country, write the country's name in uppercase on a separate line below the address.
- Address the recipient by their specific name whenever possible, using an appropriate title like "Mr." or "Ms." If unsure of the recipient's gender, omit the title.
- Leave a blank line after the address section.
Begin the letter with a formal salutation. A typical salutation starts with "Dear," followed by the recipient's full name and a comma.
- The salutation should be left-aligned.
- If you don’t know the recipient's gender, you can use their full name or their last name and job title.
- Leave a blank line after the salutation.
Include a subject line if desired. Enter the subject in uppercase below the salutation and align it to the left.
- Keep the subject concise yet descriptive, ideally limited to a single line.
- Note that this is not a strict requirement and should be kept brief.
- Omit the subject line if you’ve already included a reference line.
- If using a subject line, leave a blank line after it.
Begin the body with a brief introduction explaining the purpose of the letter. Left-align the paragraphs and indent the first line of each paragraph.
Expand on the introduction with a more detailed section. This part should further clarify the letter’s purpose and include a concluding summary.
- Keep the content concise. Use single spacing within paragraphs but leave a blank line between paragraphs and after the final one.
End the letter with a formal closing. Examples include "Sincerely," "Respectfully," or "Thank you." Ensure the closing is left-aligned and followed by a comma.
- Capitalize only the first word of the closing.
Sign your name below the closing. Leave three blank lines after the closing before typing your full name, followed by your title on the next line.
Mention any attachments at the end of the letter. If you are including any files, add an "Enclosure" line below your name and title, listing the attachments.
- Note that this is unnecessary if there are no attachments.
- Use single spacing and left-align the enclosure section.
Include the typist’s initials if applicable. If someone else typed the letter on your behalf, include their initials at the end of the letter, placed below any enclosures.
Sign your name after printing the letter. Handwrite your signature, preferably in cursive, between the closing and your typed name. A handwritten signature shows the recipient that you’ve taken the time to send the letter, emphasizing its importance.
Informal Letter
Write the date. Include the date the letter was written or completed in the top right corner of the letter.
- In English letters, use the month-day-year format. Writing the full month is considered standard, but you can also use all-numeric formats.
- Align the date to the right side of the page.
Write a friendly salutation. While "Dear" remains the most common choice, depending on your relationship with the recipient, you can address them informally by their name.
- The salutation should be left-aligned and followed by a comma.
- When writing to a friend or colleague, you can simply use their first name, such as "Dear Hoa."
- For more casual letters, you can replace "Dear" with greetings like "Hello," "Hi," or "Hey."
- If writing to an elder or someone deserving respect, include their title and name, for example, "Dear Mrs. Xuan."
- Leave a blank line between the salutation and the main body of the letter.
Write the introduction, body, and conclusion of the letter. The introduction and conclusion should each consist of a single short paragraph, while the body is typically longer.
- Left-align the main content but indent the first line of each paragraph.
- Use single spacing for the main content. While extra blank lines between paragraphs are uncommon in informal letters, you can add them for readability.
- Leave a blank line after the final sentence of the main content to separate it from the conclusion.
End the letter with an appropriate closing. "Sincerely" is a widely used closing, even for informal letters. For more casual correspondence, try closings like "Best!" or "Talk to you soon!" when writing to close friends.
- Follow the closing with a comma, but do not type your name afterward.
- Align the closing with the salutation.
Sign your name. Place your signature directly below the closing. Typically, your name should be written in cursive rather than print.
- If the recipient knows you well, signing your first name is sufficient. However, if they might not recognize your name, include your full name for clarity.
Formal or Business Email
Start with a brief yet precise description of the email's purpose. This description should be placed in the subject line, not within the body of the email.
- If the recipient expects your email, the description can simply reference the subject. If the email is unexpected, the description may need to be more nuanced. The goal is to inform the reader what to expect when opening your email, encouraging them to engage with its content.
Begin the email with a formal salutation. Typically, start with "Dear" followed by the recipient's title or the company name.
- Address a specific recipient whenever possible. Avoid sending emails to unnamed recipients. Use "To Whom It May Concern" only as a last resort.
- Traditionally, a colon is the most appropriate punctuation after the salutation, though many now use a comma in formal emails.
- If unsure whether to use "Mr." or "Ms.," write the recipient's full name.
- Leave a blank line after the formal salutation.
Write the email's content concisely but informatively. Like any letter, the body should include an introduction, main content, and conclusion. Keep the entire email, including the body, as brief and to the point as possible.
- Left-align the main content.
- Do not indent paragraphs.
- Use single spacing within the body but leave a blank line between paragraphs and after the final paragraph.
Use a formal closing. Write "Sincerely" or another polite closing after the main content, followed by a comma.
- Left-align the closing and capitalize only the first letter of the first word.
- Other formal closings include "Thank you," "Respectfully," and "Best regards."
Type your name directly below the closing. Unlike a handwritten letter, you cannot include a handwritten signature in an email.
- Left-align your name.
Provide your contact details at the bottom. Skip a line after your name, then include your address, phone number, email address, and website or blog if applicable.
- Align all this information to the left and use single spacing. Place each new piece of information on a separate line.
Personalized Email
Start with a concise yet precise description in the email subject line. This allows the recipient to quickly skim through the subject before opening the email and provides them with enough information to easily grasp the content.
Begin with a polite greeting in the email body. You can choose any formal greeting you prefer, such as "Dear." Follow the greeting with the recipient's name.
- Left-align the greeting.
- If writing to a close friend, you can skip the formal greeting and start directly with their name followed by a comma.
- Leave a blank line between the greeting and the email content.
Enter the email content. Like all letters, the email content should include an introduction, body, and conclusion. However, if writing to a close friend, this formal structure may not be necessary.
End your email with a closing remark. When writing to a friend, the closing doesn’t need to be formal, but it should clearly indicate that your message is concluding.
- If you’re emailing a close friend, it’s often fine to simply sign off with your name, omitting any formal closing.
Tips
- Be aware of the differences between formal letter formats in the U.S. and the U.K. In the U.K., the sender’s address and date are aligned to the right, and the subject line is centered. Additionally, British letters use the day-month-year date format and a comma after the salutation instead of a colon.
- If the block format (where all text is left-aligned, and paragraphs are not indented) doesn’t appeal to you, consider using the modified block format (where the sender’s address, date, and closing are indented, but paragraphs are not) or the semi-block format (where the sender’s address, date, and closing are indented, and the first line of each paragraph is also indented. Ensure these elements are indented uniformly). These formats present the same information but in different layouts.
